I remember my maths teacher Mr Young very well. He stood out because the kids made fun of him. He was missing one of his fingers. In school Maths was my worst subject. I don’t think there was ever a day I went to school that I was not afraid.
One day, I was told that if I got one more E on my report card, my parents would be called to school.
I tried really hard for weeks to learn Maths. I just couldn’t understand how to make different parts of numbers into whole things; my brain just couldn’t do it, no matter how hard I tried.
The day before report cards were to come out, I knew that Mr Young would give me an E, just like he always did.
After class ended, I went to Mr Young and told him what would happen if I got another E. He told me there was nothing he could do; it would be unfair to the other kids if he gave me a better grade than I had actually earned.
I looked at the teacher and said, “Mr Young, you know how all the kids make fun of you because you’re missing your finger?”
He looked at me, and said nothing.
“They shouldn’t do that to you because you can’t help not having a finger, Mr Young. Just like I can’t help not being able to learn numbers and matters like that,” I said.
Again, he said nothing as he looked down at his desk, and began grading papers.
The next day, when I got my report card, I looked at my grades: Geography: B- , English: D-  , History: C- , Gym: B+ , Art: C, Maths: D- .
That Math grade was the most favorite one I ever received in my whole life. I knew that someone in the world finally understood what it was like for me to be missing a finger inside my head.
【小题1】Where was Mr Young different from others?

There was a woman in Nanjing , who had two sons. She was worried about them, especially(尤其) the younger one, Ben,       he was not doing well in school. Boys in his class made jokes about him because he seemed(看似) so      .

    The mother       that she herself would have to get her sons to do better in school. She told them to go to the library to read a     a week and do a report about it for her.

One day, in Ben’s      , the teacher held up a rock（石头） and asked if anyone knew it. Ben put up his hand and the teacher let him      . Why did Ben raise his hand? They wondered（想知道）. He    said anything, what could he possibly want to say?

    Well, Ben not only       the rock; he said a lot about it. He named other rocks in its group and even knew       the teacher had found it. The teacher and the students were   . Ben had learned all this from doing one of his book      .

Ben later went to the       of his class. When he finished high school, he went to University （大学）and at last became one of the best doctors in the United States.

After Ben grew up, he       something about his mother that he did not know as a    .

She, herself, had never learned how to      .

1.A. because       B. so                  C. but            D. though

2.A. clever         B. had                C. slow           D. quick

3.A. asked         B. decided             C. forgot          D. heard

4.A. notice         B. message            C. book           D. question

5.A. class         B. room               C. office          D. lab

6.A. think          B. leave               C. speak          D. answer

7.A. always        B. even               C. quickly        D. never

8.A. found        B. played              C. knew          D. threw

9.A. whether      B. when               C. where          D. why

10.A. afraid        B. surprised            C. worried        D. unhappy

11.A. pictures      B. exercises            C. shops           D. reports

12.A. top          B. end                C. back           D. side

13.A. learned       B. remembered         C. understood      D. guessed

14.A. doctor        B. child                C. student         D. teacher

15.A. read         B. work               C. teach           D. show

The boy followed the teacher and entered the classroom.

A. came with     B. went after    C. ran away from   D. read after

完形填空（共15小题；每小题1分，计15分）
There was a woman in Detroit, who had two sons. She was worried about them, especially（尤其） the younger one, Ben, because he was not doing well in school. Boys in his class played jokes on him because he seemed so    1   . The mother   2   that she would help her sons to do   3   in school by herself. She told them to go to the Detroit Public Library to   4   a book a week and do a book report for her.
One day, in Ben’s class, the teacher held up a rock and asked   5   anyone knew it. Ben put up his hand and the teacher let him   6   . “Why did Ben raise his hand?” all of his.
   7  whispered and wondered. “He    8  said anything. What could he possibly want to say?” To their surprise, Ben not only   9   the rock, but also said a lot about it. He   10  other rocks in its group and even knew   11  the teacher had found it. The teacher and the other students were   12 . Ben had learned this from doing one of his book   13   .
Later Ben became the   14   student of his class. When he finished high school, he went to Yale University and   15   became one of the best doctors in the United States.